Singer-songwriter Richard Thompson was the man behind the legendary Fairport Convention, one half of hit duo Richard & Linda Thompson and is currently considered one of the greatest guitarists alive. He'll be playing on the Ents24 stage at this year's GuilFest, so I caught up with him for a quick chat beforehand.
Hi Richard, how are you?
I'm doing great, thanks.
You're about to head off around the US on a mammoth tour - can I take it that you enjoy playing live?
It's the most rewarding part of what I do - playing to a live audience, and feeling that sense of communication. And we try to pace ourselves, not burn out on insane schedules.
And then you're back in the UK in July; do you prefer playing over there, or are you more at home here?
It's much the same. US audiences are a bit noisier, and UK audiences let you know if they like it a bit more at the end.
You've been named by Rolling Stone Magazine as one of the Top 20 Guitarists of All-Time and have won both an Ivor Novello Award for Songwriting and the 2006 BBC Lifetime Achievement Award - is there anything else left for you to achieve?
It's nice to get the occasional pat on the back, but these are not my personal yardsticks. There are many areas where I need to improve, many projects to work on - if you stop learning, you're dead.
Your discography is huge, and you've just released another new album, Sweet Warrior. Do you find that each record marks a progression in your music?
It's supposed to, but there is the odd step backwards. Each record's an exploration, and you have to take a few chances, and sometimes you fail.
Throughout your time you've worked, amongst others, with John Martyn and Nick Drake, both of whom have enjoyed a renaissance in recent years, despite Nick's death in 1974. Do you think that people will always be drawn back to music of that era?
Richard Thompson
It was a strong era, for various reasons - it was a time of many musical crosscurrents, a time of social change, a time of technological innovation. In the case of Nick, he was severely undervalued during his lifetime, and the cream has taken a long time to rise.
There's a cohort of contemporary artists such as Devendra Banhart, Bonnie Prince Billy and Joanna Newsom, who have developed a genre known as 'Nu-Folk'. Do you see any correlation between these artists and the folk movement of the sixties, which you yourself were involved in?
I feel it goes in cycles - every so often people need to connect with and renew appreciation for their roots. I'm glad to see it come around again, and I hope it isn't a passing interest.
Your career has spanned thirty years; do you still feel that you have stuff to learn?
Forty years, actually! I'm learning all the time.
And can you ever imagine not making music?
It's not the kind of business you retire from, if you can stay healthy. As long as I can do it, I'd like to do it.
You're playing the Ents24 stage at GuilFest this summer, alongside some great up-and-coming bands. Are there any new artists you've got your eye on at the moment?
Off the top of my head, Jackie Greene, Rosie Doonan & Ben Murray, Ollabelle and Devotchka.
And, finally, what are your plans for the next few months?
I'll be touring the US in June, the UK in July and August, back to the US in September then back to the UK in October.
For more details on Richard's forthcoming UK dates, see his page here on Ents24.
Words: Meg Rowell
